HEADLINES
RUSSIAN LESBIANS DENIED MARRIAGE:
Two female gay rights activists have been denied permission to marry each other in accordance with Russian law.
OBAMA CAN OVERTURN GAY BAN:
Military law experts say that the US president has the legal authority to stop gay personell from being discharged from the military.
SA PLAYWRIGHT HAS SUCCESS IN US:
A theatre in California will present the third US production of Ashraf Johaardien’s play, Happy Endings Are Extra, in as many years.
CHILDREN WITH SAME-SEX PARENTS NOT DISADVANTAGED:
A leading expert says that children raised in same-sex families do just as well as children living with heterosexual parents.
BOY GEORGE FREED FROM PRISON:
Pop singer Boy George has been released from Edmunds Hill prison in Suffolk four months into his fifteen month sentence.
GAY OLYMPIC ATHLETES TO GET PRIDE HOUSE:
For the first time in Olympic history gay and lesbian athletes will have a place to go to relax and watch events.
LEBANESE GAYS STAND UP FOR THEIR RIGHTS:
Gays and lesbians in Lebanon have taken to the streets to demand LGBT equality in a region which is extremely anti-gay.
BOTSWANA’S OWN MISS CALIFORNIA:
Sumaiyah Marope, a business student from Gaborone, has been crowned Miss Botswana 2009 despite her anti-gay comments.
UK AGAINST BURUNDI’S ANTI-GAY LAWS:
Britain's international development minister Ivan Lewis has spoken out against Burundi’s decision to adopt a law which criminalises gay sex.
RUSSIA FACES UN COMPLAINT OVER PRIDE:
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has given Russia six months to explain why it banned a picket by gay activists in Moscow.
OBAMA SILENT ON GAY ISSUES:
American president Barack Obama is being put under pressure to engage in discussion about the issue of gay marriage.
GAY ADULT FILM ACTOR SUSPENDED:
Twenty-two year old John Gechter is appealing a suspension by his Christian College after a fellow student found an online porn video in which he stars.
CHARLIZE URGES AMERICANS TO SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE:
South African actress Charlize Theron has written an open letter ahead of a court ruling on whether to uphold or overturn Proposition 8.
MOSCOW AUTHORITIES WILL STOP PRIDE MARCH:
The ongoing drama surrounding Moscow’s Slavic Pride Parade continues, as the city has once again turned down an application to hold the march.
VAN GOGH’S EAR CUT OFF IN GAY LOVE SPAT?:
A new theory has surfaced suggesting that famed artist Vincent Van Gogh’s ear was cut off by fellow painter Paul Gauguin, with whom he was infatuated.
MAINE GOVERNOR SIGNS GAY MARRIAGE BILL:
Legislation which will allow same-sex marriage in Maine has been signed by the American state’s governor John Baldacci.
RUSSIAN LESBIAN COUPLE APPLY TO MARRY:
A lesbian couple will attempt to apply for a marriage licence in Russia later this month, even though they expect their application to be turned down.
MOSCOW PRIDE FORGES AHEAD:
Russian activists have said that they are going to go through with their plans to hold a Gay Pride march in Moscow hours before the Eurovision song contest final.
GAY MARRIAGE CLOSER IN MAINE:
The US state of Maine’s House of Representatives has voted in favour of legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry under state law.
LGBT HOLDING HANDS CAMPAIGN PLANNED:
The “A Day in Hand” campaign encourages same-sex couples to hold hands in public in order to highlight homophobia against the LGBT community.